Bike Thefts are not on the Rise in Toronto, but if you live in one of these areas a bike lock may be a great investment
Tips for Toronto Cyclists to Prevent Bike Thefts
Trends in Toronto bike thefts from 2014-2023
The number of reported bike thefts in Toronto has not changed dramatically over the last decade. Bike thefts peaked in 2019 and slowly decreased between 2019 and 2023. Throughout the years, we can see that most bike thefts take place at a residence (house or apartment) or when a bike is left outside. Very few bike thefts took place at transit stations, educational buildings, and commercial buildings.
More Toronto residents live in houses than detached homes, so this does not necessarily mean that cyclists who live in an apartment are at a higher risk of having their bike stolen than cyclists who live in a house.
No significant changes or new trends in Toronto bike thefts have emerged over the past decade.
What Toronto neighborhoods did bike thieves target?
City built designated bike parking in areas with more cyclists.
Neighborhoods
The Toronto neighborhoods that had the most bike thefts between 2014 and 2023 are in the downtown core.
Although we saw consistent trends in the breakdown of yearly bike thefts by premise type between 2014 and 2023 across the City of Toronto, different neighbourhoods have different high-theft premises. There is variation among the top 10. Most bike thefts in the Yonge-Bay corridor took place outside or by a commercial building; this makes sense because there are very few residential buildings in that area and many office buildings. It is likely the busiest area of Toronto
This section focuses on 2023 because the bike parking location data I obtained is from 2023. Bike parking locations in 2023 may not have existed back in 2014.
5 most affected neighborhoods and premises where bikes were stolen from in 2023
North York, near Yonge and Finch, saw a high concentration of bike thefts in 2023. This is particularly concerning because the bike parking facility data obtained from Open Data Toronto shows no City of Toronto bike parking facilities in that area or at that intersection. This indicates that cyclists who live in the neighbourhoods surrounding Yonge Street in North York may be at a higher risk of having their bikes stolen. If you are a cyclist who lives in North York near Yonge Street and you leave your bike outside at any time of day, it might be a good idea to invest in an effective bike lock.
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